HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS

The founders of the company both have a long history in the field of collecting. Brett Hammond began as a childhood coin and stamp collector, progressing to trade fairs and specialist auctions where he acquired a wide knowledge of many subject areas. Christopher Wren’s interest was piqued in childhood, when he began to amass a collection of artefacts recovered from local fields – ranging from Palaeolithic flint tools to spent bullet cases from the aerial dogfights of World War II.

Antiquities: Brett Hammond

More than thirty years ago, as a regular visitor to London's collectors' markets, Brett Hammond formed an interesting collection of ancient British coins and antiquities. He soon progressed to dealing, taking stalls and tables at various venues where he gained a reputation for the variety of his stock, and for his willingness to share his widening knowledge of Celtic, Romano-British and Anglo-Saxon material. Following a period in the USA in which he witnessed the enthusiasm of collectors for a diverse range of periods and cultures, Brett decided to expand the range of material on offer. He launched TimeLine Originals in the 1990s, seizing the opportunity afforded by rapid progress in digital photography, internet sales and email to create a twenty-four-hour shopping opportunity for clients worldwide.

By late 2009, the decision was taken to launch TimeLine Auctions with Brett as CEO, in order to expand the opportunities for clients to buy and sell coins and artefacts of all periods and cultures. The first sale took place in March 2010, preceded by online viewing and a high-quality sales catalogue. Subsequent sales have built steadily on the early successes of the venture.

Brett is one of the ten professional UK Treasure valuers who value treasure items found in the UK on behalf of the British Museum and the Treasure Valuation Committee.

Brett continues to contribute editorial features and articles to a number of periodicals, British and international. He currently has over 120 published articles to his name. He co-authored Wayland's Work and is presently working on The Celtic Iron Age, the fourth volume in his popular British Artefacts series. He has also recently published Benets Third Edition, and Benets Medieval, his acclaimed illustrated valuation sourcebooks for artefacts found in the United Kingdom. He is the Chairman of the Association of International Antiquities Dealers (AIAD) www.aiad.org.uk and owner of the TimeLine Originals coin and artefact dealership. On Brett’s instigation, TimeLine acquired the award-winning Wildwinds.com coin site, a fully-sourced reference website, in order to maintain its status as a free resource for numismatists.

Coins: Christopher Wren

Christopher, by profession a surveyor, began collecting coins, artefacts and fossils from childhood and found the countryside around his home in Kent, close to the medieval Pilgrim’s Way to Canterbury, a rich area to find artefacts of many periods from Palaeolithic flints to post Medieval coins. Collecting ancient stone implements awoke an interest in the principles of typology, and developed his keen eye for details of form and patination. These skills extended into the area of hammered coinages and he takes a keen interest in many other areas of collecting and research.

Between 1992 and 1995, his three volumes on short-cross and long-cross coins were self-published and awarded the prestigious RNS Lhotka Prize. He has also assisted with the editing of several volumes of the Sylloge of Coins of the British Isles, particularly for the coinages of Henry III and he regularly attends museum open days and societies to speak and exhibit.

Jewellery: Tanja Maijala

With her knowledge of ancient and modern jewellery and her skills in English, Swedish and her native Finnish, Tanja was engaged to assist with the expansion of the TimeLine brand into the Scandinavian market. Her initial interest in Viking age artefacts has widened to the study of a wider range of antiquities with emphasis on jewellery and decorative items in precious metals.

Subsequently, Tanja has expanded her role to assist with internet sales and customer relations. She regularly assists Brett Hammond in the production of articles and books, proofreading the text and sourcing images, helping with matters relating to layout and style. She co-ordinates the creation of final artwork and the fine-tuning of text prior to publication.